s and gentlemen, please welcome governor charlie baker. governor baker: first of all, i want to thank you on behalf of the commonwealth of massachusetts for being here today. i want to congratulate all those who are involved in raising the money to make this possible, and i want to thank the kennedy family for choosing this site and this organization and this operation to pay tribute to ted kennedy. senator lott, yeah, i am a republican governor from massachusetts. [laughter] governor baker: many years ago i was with a group of health care professionals, and we went down to washington to meet with senator kennedy to talk about health care. when we got down there we were told when we got to his office in the rayburn building that the senate was in session, but he could meet with us in a little anteroom off the senate chamber if we hustled over there quickly. so we all hustled over there and

gathered in this little room off the senate chamber, and he came bustling in and sat down with us. for the next 30 to 40 minutes, we all talked with him about health care while literally a dozen members of the u.s. senate at one point or another poked their head in. and in those kinds of conversations you have with people that you really know, abbreviated little, did you look after -- yeah, i am on that -- and did you take, yeah, i got that. back and forth, back and forth between him and his colleagues in the u.s. senate. and when we left that day, i thought to myself, in a business where it is so much easier to stop something from happening than it is to actually find your way to get something done, this is how this guy succeeds. relationships, trust follow-through.

it was all on display that day as a sidebar to the meeting that we were having about health care. in short, senator kennedy absolutely was the bigfoot from massachusetts in so many ways if you needed somebody to help you get something done in d.c. there is a special reason why so many pieces of legislation that passed with his name to a republicans over the course of a career. it was because in that line of work, he knew how to build relationships, establish trust and follow through to get the work of the senate, the work of the nation accomplished. and it was not just the big stuff. every friday night for many years i used to stop at a chinese restaurant on my way home in revere and pick up food for myself and for the legion of children that would be hanging out of my house when i got there waiting for me to arrive.

and one friday night it was about 7:30, a big group of us sitting around the kitchen table, eating dinner, phone rings, my 6-year-old daughter walks over and answers the phone. she gets very quiet and a little demure, as only a 6-year-old can. she puts the phone down, comes over, that, there's someone on the phone who says he is senator kennedy. [laughter] governor baker: that led to a lot of hilarity between my kids and my wife and everybody else about which one of my friends might be pranking me. i answered the phone, and sure enough, it was senator kennedy. friday night, 7:30, and he is calling to thank me for agreeing to serve on the rose kennedy greenway conservancy board. we talked for a few minutes, said how important it was to him that he get done right, and if we had any questions or concerns to feel free to give him a call. i hung up the phone, and i said,

that was senator kennedy. which no one believed. but the interesting thing to me is this is somebody who played on the big issues in the big questions of his time in washington. but i polled every member of that board and we all got a phone call like that, and they came at all hours of the day and night and on weekends, and he stayed with that as we went through the process of launching that board and making that greenway a reality. we live in a world in which people do not get what it takes to get stuff done in government. i dearly hope as somebody who believes deeply in the capability and the quality of public life to truly make life better for everyone, that this building and this institute finds a way to communicate how important relationships, trust

and followthrough are to truly being successful in public life, because to me, that embodies what senator kennedy was all about. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome senator ed markey. senator markey: mr. vice president, vicki, teddy, patrick, and your beautiful families, ted loved all of you so much. you were the lights of his life, and he would be so proud of what you have accomplished together

on this incredible day. ted made impossible dreams come true as the greatest senator of all time in the united states of america. and you have made this possible today. and there could be no more perfect place for this innovative institute than umass boston, and extraordinary learning institution which educates over from just about every country in the work of all races, all countries, all incomes. this institution is what ted kennedy was all about. and deep appreciation to jack connors and john fish and nick littlefield and ed schlossberg

for the fantastic job they did for bringing us to this day. this 21st century edifice is now etched into the indelible history of this city and our nation. and much like teddy kennedy's , the lasting impact of this institute will rise beyond our imagination. as a boy sitting on the floor in my living room, i watched on television as john f. kennedy accepted the nomination for president of the united states. that moment opened up the windows of the world for me and for every young boy and girl in the united states. and then in 1962, ted kennedy ran for the senate for the first time against george cabot lodge. this was my political education, about how a campaign for senator could make an historic difference for massachusetts and

for our country. the undreamed of possibilities that teddy and his brothers, president kennedy and bobby, shared inspired a generation of public service. the kennedy brothers taught us to give back to our country, which has given so much to us, and they taught us to be bold. that is what the legacy is of ted kennedy. and it was an honor to serve with and to learn from ted kennedy in congress for 35 years. teddy's compassion was unmatched. his mentorship without peer. his dedication to justice unsurpassed. his ability to work across the aisle the best of any member of the united states congress. and this institute, a hub of history, will take teddy's personal touch and at the power of technology. it will showcase how effective public policies have fueled

groundbreaking discoveries and progress across all fields. it will spread dreams across towns and nations, building bridges of understanding. it will demonstrate how leadership, teamwork negotiation, and compromise are all essential ingredients of moving our country forward. you see, when i was first elected to congress, the son of a milk man from malden, i had never been to washington, d.c. until the day of my swearing-in as a member of the united states congress. but now at the kennedy institute, any young person can come here to learn and to experience how our democracy works, to stand on the senate floor, to debate the big issues of our time. teddy turned the sermon on the mount into the sermon on the senate floor. blessed are the poor, the sick

the children, the elderly, and blessed are the peacemakers. for teddy, blessed were those programs to address the needs of the most vulnerable amongst us. blessed are headstart, social security, medicare, medicaid health care for all, and blessed are the peacemakers for northern ireland, in the middle east, and on the urban streets of america. that is what teddy kennedy preached. and so while there is -- [applause] senator markey: while there is no building that can match the strength of teddy's soul, no material that could replicate the fiber of his character, no architecture that could begin to scrape the heights of his vision, this institute will convey the essence of his vision, the d.n.a. for public service. and in doing so, will inspire

new leaders and more engaged citizens. for teddy, education was always more than books. it was an opportunity, an experience to be grasped every day. teddy found vision while holding the tiller of his sailboat or his lectern on the senate floor, and he had great fun every minute he was working on the most important issues in the world. and now, through its innovative ideas and time-honored ideals, the institute, a place where hope and history will rhyme, will allow teddy's lionheart courage, and words to echo throughout time. and it will stir a new generation of dreamers to service. this institute will be a way to encourage leaders of tomorrow to learn to participate, to soar, and to

work together for a more educated, more healthy, more peaceful and more fair nation and world. that is ted kennedy's legacy. this is truly a great day. thank you also much. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome senator elizabeth warren. senator warren: thank you. and thank you all for being here today in boston for such a wonderful day of celebration thank you, mr. vice president. thank you, jean and fred, for your tremendous leadership to make this day possible. and thank you, vicki, thank you, ted, thank you patrick, for your support, your advice, and for your friendship. i am truly honored to be with you on such a happy day. we're here to dedicate the kennedy institute, a place designed with one of the loftiest goals possible -- to inspire, to encourage, to engage.

it is a lofty goal, but it is the right one for an institute to honor ted kennedy. and here is how i know how. back when i was a law professor, i studied the early signs that america's once strong middle class was in serious trouble. i studied people in bankruptcy. people went to college, who got married, had kids, who ended up pushed over a financial cliff solidly middle-class folks, and more than 90% in bankruptcy because of a medical problem, a job loss, or a family breakup. the squeeze on the middle class was getting tighter and more and more families were deep in debt. bankruptcy was there last option to scratch their way back to dead-flat broke and try to build some kind of future. credit card companies saw this and they figured out that they could boost their profits if they squeezed these people a little harder.

so they wanted to change the bankruptcy laws so that hundreds of thousands of more people every year would be locked out of bankruptcy, left mired in debt. better profits squeezing people, drowning them in medical debt and dealing with job losses. i was truly appalled. understand how this fight shaped up. credit card companies were smart. they had already lined up a lot of powerful folks to support them, democrats and republicans. they had money galore. they had lobbyists galore. and if a family was going bankrupt, they had nothing literally nothing. they had no pacs. they had no lobbyists. they were miserable and so humiliated they probably would not have shown up for a political rally if they had been invited. senator kennedy's counsel melody barnes had heard me give a talk, and she came up afterwards and said to be, you need to meet my boss. i had never met him.

it was april 17, 1998. i showed up in his office on the 24th floor of the jfk building. understand, i did not know anything about politics. i had never met anyone like this. in fact, i was a registered republican until a few years before that. the senator greeted me like we had known each other for each other forever. he swept me across his office and over to his windows. he pointed out old north church and talked so fast i could barely understand him. we had 15 minutes on the schedule, and we sat down and started to talk about what was happening to working families, about how hard some of them are getting squeezed, about how hard they worked, and how much was going wrong, and about that bankruptcy bill. and a 15-minute meeting turned into an hour and a half. and at the end, senator kennedy

stood up, and he gave me that big, beautiful smile, and he said, you have done it professor. you have my vote. i went straight back at him and said, we do not need your vote. we need your leadership. that is a big difference. like the difference between being the kindly uncle who drops by at the right time with a birth gay day gift and being the parent who has to raise the kid every day and make it work. to be the one who gets out there and trades and pushes and pulls. we needed him to agree to be the leader, and it was a really big ask. he stood there, i remember what he looked like. his eyes were puffy. he was a little stooped, he was in constant back pain. he looked tired, and he looked over at that big satchel of papers that he always carried.

the satchel, for his billion other commitments that he had already made a zillion other fights he already agreed to fight. he looked at it and looked back at me, looked again, and then he just said, i will do it. and that is what he did. he kept his word, and he led that fight for 10 years. i left his office, and i went out to the elevator bank and put my head against the wall and i cried. senator kennedy changed my life that day. i had not liked politics. all the lobbyists and cozy dealings and special favors for those who could buy access. but i stood in the lobby outside ted kennedy's office, and i felt clean. i come into his office, with no political connections, no money, improving the bankruptcy system

was not going to help in his next reelection campaign, and everyone knew that eventually we were going to lose this. but senator ted kennedy, the lion of the senate, agreed to lead this fight because it was the right thing to do for millions of people hanging on by their fingernails who just desperately needed a little help. he changed my life and he changed what i understood about public service, what it means to fight for working people just because it is the right thing to do. this institute will give millions of people an opportunity to be inspired. that is the perfect way to honor the memory of ted kennedy. thank you.

>> kennedy family, distinguished guests. senator kennedy loved music and celebration, and you cannot have one without the other. we are happy to provide some of that. this is one of his favorite songs. feel free to sing along. ♪ >> ♪ there's a bright golden haze on the meadow there's a bright golden haze on the meadow the corn is as high as an elephant's eye and it looks like it is climbing clear up to the sky

o, what a beautiful morning o, what a beautiful day i got a beautiful feeling everything's going my way all the cattle are standing like statutes all the cattle are standing like statues they don't turn their heads as they see me drive by, that little brown maverick is winking her eye

o, what a beautiful morning o, what a beautiful day i got a beautiful feeling everything is going my way ♪ ♪ ♪ all the sounds of the earth are like music all the sounds of the earth are like music the breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree

and an old weepin' willer is laughin' at me o, what a beautiful morning o, what a beautiful day i got a beautiful feeling everything's going my way everybody sing it! o, what a beautiful morning o, what a beautiful day i got a beautiful feeling everything's going my way o, what a beautiful day

♪ o, what a beautiful o, what a beautiful o, what a beautiful day.♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome senator edward m. kennedy jr. senator kennedy: thank you everyone. thank you, everyone. i want to thank keith lockhart and the incredible boston pops for being with us this morning. and i just want to say one thing. it is not true that my father really wanted to be president. who he really wanted to be is brian stokes mitchell. that is the life he really

wanted if he didn't have -- didn't love the united states senate so much. on behalf of the entire kennedy family, thank you for being here and thank you for joining us in this incredible celebration. i have the honor of introducing to you a great american, an american hero. the man who i'm going to introduce today has served our country, not just worn the uniform, but also has persevered and in many ways reminds me of my father in that way. his patriotism, his love of this country, his stick-to-it-iveness, and his willingness to put aside differences and find ways to really get things done. senator mccain, my father so enjoyed his collaboration with you year after year, and he really looked upon his senate

days working with you as some of the great moments of his senate career. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in giving a warm boston welcome to our friend senator john mccain. senator mccain: thank you ted vicki, patrick, mr. vice president. all of ted's family and friends and colleagues assembled here it's a privilege to be with you today to help dedicate this wonderful institute, a fitting memorial to the man who gave a half century of dedicated and accomplished service to our country in a place he truly loved, the united states senate. i wish i hadn't already told my best antidote about ted at his memorial service. it might have been appropriate here. it concerned an exchange he and i had on the senate floor was that notable for its volume and

vigor. that's a good kennedy word for you. the story that we both enjoyed telling. since many of you were present the last time, i won't repeat it today. pity to, it's a good one. we were on the floor -- [laughter] senator mccain: there were two freshmen senators, one democrat, one republican, who got into a parliamentary dispute and i saw it taking place so i went down and gnarl -- naturally took the side of the freshman republican senator and who should appear out of the democrat cloak room to take the side of the democrat freshman. soon face-to-face, eye-to-eye," violating all of the senate

rules, the two young senators fled to the cloak room and after it was all over, ted put his arm around me and said, "pretty good job, didn't we?" that was the essence. and i know you didn't mind hearing it again because ted and i both believed if a story could make you laugh once, it could make you laugh again and again and again. i'm still getting laughs for jokes i stole from mo udall 30 years ago. i miss my friend. i miss him a lot. i knew i would when i said six years ago, the senate wouldn't be the same without him. and it hasn't been. that's mostly for reasons unrelated to losing ted but i have no doubt the place would be a little more productive and a lot more fun if he were there. we all know ted was a passionate liberal. he was happy to impress on you with the booming baritone of

his, just how passionate and how liberal any time he was challenged. i don't have a very timid personality myself. when either of us was roused to appropriate indignation, we could get a little heated and if we were on the senate floor at the same time, and at the same temperature, well, watch out. it was a great thing, though about ted. he loved it. he loved a good fight. he had a real zest for political argument and the harder you went at it, the more he enjoyed it and the harder he laughed about it when you next encountered him. he loved the place. you could just tell. he loved its history and its unique attributes and its curious means for making incremental progress on the problems of our time. he saw himself as a steadfast advocate for his causes and no one in the senate opposed him lightly or debated him without

respect for his passion and his powers the. we all listened to him. he was hard to ignore but he also saw himself as a problem solver which all legislators should aspire to be. we didn't always agree on what the solutions to our country's problems were. sometimes we couldn't even agree on what the problems were. but when you did find common ground and forged a compromise solution for the sake of making some improvement in the state of our union, he was the best ally ally -- persistent, patient, passionate thorough, tireless, always true to his word. and just excellent company in all the battles small and large, that you fought along the way. he made you love the place, too because you saw the senate's potential in as many symptoms --

successes there, most of which achieved by committed to the hard and sometimes dull work of legislating as he was to the more fun aspects of the job. he took the long view. he never gave up. he advanced his causes by degrees and often, too often for my side, he would eventually win it all. i'm less patient than ted was but i know his approach was best suited to the institution. he was the statesman in him. tactical far-sighted and inventive, that made the passionate, outspoken advocate, so damn effective. that's a good lesson for all of us. as i said, i miss him. i miss his company. i miss that voice suddenly jolting us out of the were were torper of some debate that dragged on too long. i miss fighting with him, to be honest. it's harder to find people who

enjoy a good fight as much as ted did. i miss his story telling, his laugh. i miss the pride sometimes solemn pride, but often joyous pride he took in his family's history and the important role they played in the history of our country. no the place hasn't been the same without him, but if we learn the right lessons from the late edward m. kennedy's example, from his love for and achievements in the u.s. senate we can make it better, we can make it a place where every member can serve with pride and love. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen please welcome congressman patrick j.

kennedy. congressman kennedy: i can just see my father out here this morning in the line. he'd be right out there wondering if you got a cup of coffee while you were waiting to get screened. am i right? then he'd say "i can't believe!" and eggs out the door, right kevin? i am so honored. my family's so honored. as i see this crowd here, i see my father, because all of you are part of his life and seeing you brings back great memories for me and my entire family. i want to take this moment before i have the honor of introducing the vice president to acknowledge my mother, joan bennett kennedy.

of course, my dad would be saying, "make sure you remember your mother." so, i did, dad, i did. i want to take this opportunity you know, in the senate they have the phrase "my friend" and they keep referring to my friend. well, it could never be more true than when he talked about joe biden. mr. vice president, you were there for him. he was there for you. in good times and in bad times you were on the same side of the aisle but you were sitting next to each other for years on the judiciary committee fighting that battle for social justice

that was encapsulated in his mass card of matthew 25. those who were there for the least one of these, my brothers and sisters, is there for me. and you, mr. vice president have carried that same faith to help bring more americans into the circle of opportunity which was my father's great passion for this country. but all of us know joe biden just like my dad, loved people, loved the fray and loved to get into it and then solve the problem. and he was the happy warrior and our next speaker our vice president, joe biden, is also a happy warrior. please give a great round of applause to our vice president joe biden!

[applause] vice president biden: thank you very much. thank you very, very much. thank you for the introduction, patrick. teddy jr., caroline, vicki, it's a great honor to be asked to speak here today. there are many others in the audience and behind me who -- who deserve this honor more than i do, and to joan and to jean, the whole kennedy family. my sister, valerie and i are truly honored to be here. you know, there are scores of stories that we could all tell. my guess is every one of you in

the audience has a story about ted kennedy's generosity and friendship toward you, stories that made a difference in your lives. but truth is, patrick it's doubtful that i would be -- that i would have won my election in the first instance were it not for the fact that your father literally, with less than a week left to go came to wilmington, delaware rallied about 2,000 democrats, and started off by saying "you know, i'm here for joe biden but i think he's too young to be a senator." everyone in the audience understood it, it energized them. i was then 29. i didn't turn 30 until after election day but the next day in the "wall street journal," on that column on the left side, it said, "kennedy says biden too

young for senate." that just energized my base and i won by a landslide of 3100 votes. on a more serious note, it's close to certain that i would have never been sworn in as united states senator but for your father, your father's encouragement, literally reaching out to me and pulling me to washington. as a matter of fact, i was supposed to go down to be sworn in. i didn't want to and i didn't show up the day i was to be sworn in. it was your father, your father, who along with mike mansfield sent the secretary of the senate to a hospital in rimming to -- wilmington, delaware to swear me in with my boys. after i arrived in washington, your dad, although it's presumptuous to say this,

treated me like a little brother. at least that's how i felt. when i arrived in washington after everyone else had been sworn in, your dad became my tutor and my guide. he introduced me to other senators who i had never met. i'm the first united states senator other than him i ever knew so it was knew and i remember him taking me into the senate gymnasium and all these very famous, famous senators. he was trying to get me out of my office, get me engaged. and i remember walking in in the senate gym, like in a ymca the men walk around between the showers and the stalls with nothing on and i remember walking in and he'd say, joe i'd like you to meet jack javits, and i remember going, "how are you?" i swear to god. i want you to meet genis

randolph. ok. i felt guilty i was fully clothed. oh, god was i embarrassed. but your dad also intervened and got me placed on important committees usually not available to a freshman senator. he not only looked out for me, but he looked out for my sons bo and hunt. i remember, i don't know how many times he dragged you to the kennedy center and let me sit next to each other with my two sons and you wondered what the hell are we doing here but you were always reaching out to my sons and later my wife, jill, and my daughter, ashley. it's something about teddy kennedy, it's something about the kennedys, but you all know it. everyone in here understands it. he was an anchor to many of us

in our personal lives but he was also it but one that was written on our sleeves was, we both viewed serving in the united states senate as the single greatest honor and the greatest responsibility we had in our lives next to being fathers and husbands. we both believed and i still believe that our democracy would not have survived as it has over the past 226 years but for the brilliance and foresight of our founders students of montescu and lockhugh who understand the separation of the powers between the three branches of government was the ultimate and only guarantor of individual liberty. as a u.s. senator, chairman of the judiciary committee and

chairman of the foreign relation committee, now as vice president, i've lived that wisdom from a very unique perspective and with teddy as my guide. in the senate, we worked with eight presidents of both parties. i watched him challenge them when he thought they were wrong while always paying deference to the office they occupied, never demeaning it. i served with him 32 years on the judiciary committee sitting next to him. i watched him fight tooth and nail for equal justice for all but always always with the deep belief in the indispensability and independence of the role of the judiciary, the only sure guarantee of our justice. but what he really taught me was the meaning of john adams' observations, the senate was the class colossus, in adams' words

the colossus of the constitution. adams said no republic can ever be for any duration watt a senate and a senate deep deeply and strongly rooted, strong enough to bear up under all popular storms and passing. i think he believed that with every fiber in his being. i had a front-row seat, which i can never repay the family for for 36 years of his nearly 50 years in the senate, watching the liberal lion of the senate, watching with an never-ending sense of awe, including the last time he walked on the floor of the senate to cast a vote for the healthcare bill, affordable care act, and as divided as the body was on that act every single senator stood with thunderous applause and tears in

their eyes welcoming back the lion of the senate, knowing his passion from the day he entered that body, was to see to it that we no longer debated whether or not healthcare was a bridge -- privilege or a right. he debated -- [applause] vice president biden: i watched him debate and contest some of the most divisive and important storms and passions of our time -- the voting rights act, the equal rights amendment watergate, the wars in vietnam and iraq, the worthiness of supreme court nominees to serve on a body that he fully understood and told us all would have more impact and effect on the fate of the nation than anything we did other than

declaring war. and what i observed in every instance was that as passionate as he felt, he always paid deference and respect to the institutions that were involved whether it was the presidency, the federal judiciary or the congress. and the other observation that all those present here who serve with him can attest to, teddy understood that to unlock the potential of the united states senate to enable it to arrive at consensus was about more than just mastering the details of the issue of the day, and he did master them. he understood that consensus was arrived at from the cumulative effect -- i emphasize the cumulative effect -- of personal relationships, the little things that did you for the other

built over time. that's what generated the trust and the mutual respect and the comedy that only teddy was able to do. forgive me for saying in the city of tip o'neill, but i think he was wrong that all politics is local. am all politics is personal, all politics is personal, and no one, no one in my life understood that better than ted kennedy. i remember vividly as a young senator, we still had a lot of the old anti-civil rights members of the south nine to be exact, when i arrived, and teddy was their nemesis. i remember him debating senator jim eastland was judiciary committee, a powerful anti-civil rights chairman of the judiciary committee, or barry goldwater and the war in vietnam, or john

mccain on issues of foreign policy and others. three very different men with very different perspectives, but when the debate was over, as john referenced, teddy would inevitably walk across the aisle to his colleague's desk, shake his hand, and more often than not, they'd go down to the senate dining room to get a cup of coffee together. he reached out to everyone always, always building and maintaining personal relationships and trust, even those with whom he had profound, profound disagreements. teddy didn't have to be taught the lesson that the majority leader mike mansfield taught me once when i criticized a senator in his office. he looked at me and he said, joe, it's always appropriate to challenge another senator's

judgment. it's never appropriate to challenge their motive because you don't know what their motive is. that's why teddy was able to so frequently forge compromise and generate consensus. and in the process, help make the united states senate work as it was designed to work. he believed what he said, that being a united states senator changes a person. it's bigger than you and it requires you to always be willing to listen to another perspective and to be open to changing your mind without betraying any of your principles. as my dad would say, teddy was a big man, he was never small, he was always gracious. as a consequence, he raised everybody's game.

it's hard to be petty when the man or woman you're debating is being grand and magnanimous. remind me of the quote my sister always uses attributed to michelangelo who was a sculptor at heart, he said, michelangelo allegedly said, "i saw the angel in the marble and i carved until i set him free." teddy set free a lot of folks. he appealed to their better angels. that was teddy. he set a really high bar for his fellow senators, like the former and current ones who are here today, and one he demanded no less be applied to himself and his staff. teddy was always optimistic, at least all the time i was ever

with him, and that was an awful lot. always hopeful because i believe like too few people today, he believed in the basic instincts and capacities and goodness of the american people, just given half a chance. he believed that if you listened to the other guy, the other woman, if you actually listened, you might find something about their argument that made sense that anything was possible. ultimately, from my perspective i think that's teddy's true legacy measured as a consequence of how we look at one another and, in turn, how we look at ourselves, to establish trust and faith in an institution, an institution with the potential to make us all better. and that's what i expect the

edward m. kennedy institute of the united states to fully convey to the future generations of americans that are going to wander through this magnificent place. ladies and gentlemen i'm not stating anything you don't already know. this country hungers for a resurgence of a baseline belief in a system of self governance admired for its wisdom in the face of passionate differences and for the ability to compromise, seemingly unbridgeable divides with some dignity and some dispatch, and i'm confident that this institute will serve and satisfy that appetite. the pundits say that we are -- we're divided today we're more divided than we ever were. that's simply not true. look at every major poll on every major issue there's a

consensus in america. it's the political process that has been broken, and generations of americans from every state will enter this institute with a chance to debate and raise real issues and develop the capacity to speak up and make their case but i hope they'll learn always with respect and hopefully they'll return home empowered with the capacity to listen to different views, to be able to forge a consensus that makes it possible for their community and their country to function to its fullest potential. what more fitting tribute to senator edward m. kennedy than that lesson, to not only learn but felt by so many generations of young women and men who will walk through this institute. as i said, he was the anchor of our personal lives and he was an

anchor for the senate as an institution. let this place serve as a true compass pointing towards his unyielding faith in the limitless possibilities of the american people and this country. thank you for allowing me to be here and may god bless you all. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you mr. vice president, that was beautiful. these are two songs that i think beautifully capture the heart and the spirit, not only of senator kennedy, but the heart

and spirit of what this institution will be. ♪ o beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! america! america! god shed his grace on thee

and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea! o, beautiful for pilgrim feet patriot dream that see beyond the years thine alabaster city's gleam undimmed by human tears! america! america!

god shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea ♪ ♪ ♪ i see his face, i hear his

heartbeat, i look in those eyes, how wise they seem. for when he is old enough, i will show him america and he will ride on the wheels of a dream. ♪ ♪ we will go down south and see the people and they will live with the

dream. we will travel on from there. and we will ride on the wheels of a dream. yes, the wheels are turning for us now and the tires are starting to roll any man can get where he wants to if he has got some fire in his soul they will stand up and give us their dues, i swear that it is more than promises, i swear that it must be true.

our country that lets a man like me own a car and raise a child and start a life with you, with you, beyond that road, beyond this lifetime that hope will always gleam with the promise of happiness and the freedom we live to know we travel with heads held high, just as far as we can go, and we will rise our

sun will rise on though wheels of a dream. ♪ ♪ [applause] announcer: ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, mrs. obama and their children. [applause]

announcer: mr. president, mrs. obama, governor baker, senators mccain, warren and markey, dr. jean mccormick, keith motley, cardinal o'malley, to all of the senators members, and elected officials who have joined us today, the boston pops, the children's choir friends on

behalf of ted's's sister jean, and all of his family, we are standing next to each other literally and in spirit, we are all grateful that you all could be here. 36 years ago, my husband came here to dedicate the presidential library next door. speaking about the older brother that he loved and admired so deeply, he called the moment a culmination and a happy run to view with history that makes memories come alive. today, our same -- the same is true for all of us who loves edward kennedy. it seems like only yesterday i was standing with teddy at a window on the seventh floor of

the jfk library, looking down on the plot of land where this institute now stands. it was an empty low-lying field, but he had a vision that something extraordinary could rise because of it. as we looked out that window, he pointed to a little pine tree, and said to me, that is where the institute is going to be. and we stood there for a moment imagining what it would look like, and institute, with a full-scale re-create and of the u.s. senate, right here in boston. the city of his birth. he loved it so much. now, thanks to the heroic efforts of so many incredible people, that chamber and this institute stands exactly where

teddy dreamed they would. but as was teddy's wish this institute is not about one man. it is about the nearly 2000 men and women who have served in the united states senate since it first convened, and it is about those who might be inspired to serve in it in the future if they only knew more about the important role of the senate in our democracy. teddy used to say, everybody knows about the presidency, we have presidential libraries, but they don't know so much about the senate, and the legislative process. then he would smile that famous smile of his, and would say, after all, we are in article one of the constitution. [laughter]

teddy loved the united states senate, he loved the history and the great senators of the past. he loved the great senators he served with. he loved the building, he loved the senate chamber, but most of all, he loved the difference the senate could make. he was secure american rights helping them again health care or jobs, strengthening america's leadership in the world's. sure the senate has seen its share of disagreement, sometimes sharp ones, that as teddy understood, that was part of the process. as all of us understands, teddy works -- worked hard at it, because he believed it had the power to save lives the lives

of people in this country and the lives of people around the world. he served in the united states senate for nearly 47 years. he noticed something during that time. when you became a senator, something changed inside of you. you started to think about the country, and teddy wanted to build a place where everyone could feel the same way, a place were all of us could start thinking about our country. the institute of the seated a is that dream. just as teddy approached

politics differently he wanted to approach the institute in a completely fresh and unique way. so now we have a totally hands-on, interactive experience, and it is an experience. visitors interact not only with the experience, but with each other. we are using the best of technology while encouraging face to face interactions and negotiations. it is an entirely new model of civic engagement, and at the center of it all, is that magnificent full scale re-create and of the senate chamber. that re-creation was so important to teddy. he believed in the majesty of the place, and its power to inspire and he felt that no experience as a senator would be complete without understanding the on he felt -- the awe he

felt walking into that chamber. we have seen that in action. there will be a buzz in the hallway talking about issues or exhibits, but as soon as they walked through those double doors, a hush comes over them. they seem to know instinctively that they are in a very special place. in that space, they will try to pass the compromise of 1850, or hash out immigration reform, or some issue that is not even on the agenda yet, and when they do, they will learn a lot more that which senator was responsible for what bill. we hope they will also learn that despite our disagreements if we sit down and chat -- talk to each other and listen to each other, perhaps then we can find common ground. perhaps then together, we can

make incredible progress. teddy hope that everyone who came to this institute realized that it was politics, and he said that politics is a noble -- profession. even if it is messy, even if it is hard. teddy wanted young people to rise above and beyond the reports of gridlock and poll numbers and become active participants in our democracy. whether that means serving in the senate or on the school board or just voting without fail because as far as teddy was concerned, if we all did our part, there was nothing that we could not accomplish. we are americans, he said, this is what we do. we meet -- reach the moon, we scale the heights, i know it, i have seen it, i have lived it,

and i will see it again. this will inspire us to do it again. teddy actually spoke those words in 2008 at the democratic national convention. despite his own illness, he was looking to the future, and he was looking forward to speaking on behalf of a dear friend, that then-junior senator of illinois, a legislator that teddy had commuted -- had gotten onto his committee, and it is a great honor to introduce the man that my husband loved so much, he gave him a puppy. [laughter] a man who understands the power and the promise of our democracy. a man who stood up and fought for and at long last signed a bill enshrining in law what teddy called the cause of his life, health care for all americans. [applause]

and a man who was also a united states senator, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, barack obama. [applause] president obama: thank you thank you, thank you so much. vicki, patrick caroline, ambassador smith, members of the kennedy family, thank you so much for inviting me to speak today.

your evidence, cardinal om alley, vice president biden governor baker, maher walsh members of congress, past and present, and 30 much every elected official in massachusetts. -- and 30 much every elected official -- pretty much every elected official in massachusetts [laughter] know that michelle and i have shared your prayers in the past few days of for an army ranger and police officer, john moynahan, who was shot in the line of duty on monday night. [applause] i mention him because last year the white house, and the vice president and i, had the chance to honor him as one of america's top cops for his bravery in the line of duty and for risking his life for a fellow officer, and i am told that he is awake and

talking and we wish him a full and speedy recovery. [applause] i also want to thank allowed someone who very much wanted to be here, someone who wanted to be here every day for 25 years, he represented this commonwealth every day, and that his secretary of state john kerry. [applause] many of you them -- you know that he stood up for principles for ted and his brother john kennedy believed in so strongly. let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate. finally -- [applause] finally, in his first year at senate, ted dispatched a young age to assemble a team of talent

without rival. the cell was simple, come and make history. so i want to give a special shout out to his extraordinarily loyal staff nearly 1000 strong, this is your day as well. i am proud of you. [applause] of course, many of you are busy. and we got back to work. [laughter] distinguished guests, fellow citizens in 1958, ted kennedy was a young man working to reelect his brother jack in the united states senate. on election night, the two of

them toasted one another. here is to 1960, mr. president, ted said, if you can make it. with his quick irish wit, jack returned the toast, here is to 1952, senator kennedy, if you can make it. [laughter] they both made it. today they are together again in eternal rest at arlington, but their legacies are alive as ever. the edward m kennedy institute for the united states senate is an example of the hard frustrating, and never-ending but critical work required to make that ideals and real. what more fitting tribute, what

better testament to the life of ted kennedy than this place? any of us who have had the privilege to serve in the senate know that it is impossible not to share the all that he has for the institute -- share the awe that he has for the institute of the senate, an awe that he shared with his brother jack. it is good to see trent and

tom daschle here, they remember what customs was like. [laughter] ted gave a speech only because he felt there was a topic, the civil rights act, that demanded it. nevertheless, he spoke with humility. whoever has said that the senator should speak in lautner -- speak and not learn, should not teach, and some of you have not followed this lesson, but fortunately, we had ted to show us the ropes anyway. no one made the senate, live like ted kennedy.

he could tell you everything about it, anything and everything that there was to know, about all of it. [laughter] and then there were more somber moments. i still remember the first time that i pulled open the drawer of my desk and each senator is assigned a desk, and there is a tradition of carving names of those who had used it before. and those names in my desk included half and baker, simon, wellstone, and robert f kennedy. it was a place where you instantly pulled yourself up a little bit straighter. where you try to act a little bit better. being a senator changes a person, ted had wrote in his

memoirs. as vicki said, it may take a year or two years or three years, but it always happens, it fills you with a heightened sense of purpose. that is the magic of the senate. that is the essence of what it can be. and who but ted kennedy and his family would create a full-scale replica of the senate chamber and open it to everyone? we live in a time of such great cynicism about all of our institutions. and we are cynical about government and about washington most of all. it is hard for our children to see in the noisy and too often trivial pursuits of today's politics the possibility of our

democracy, and their capacity together to do big things. and this place can help change that. it can help like the fire of imagination. plant the seed of noble ambition and the minds of future generations. imagine a gaggle of schoolkids clutching tablets turning classrooms into cloak rooms and hallways into hearing rooms, and assigning issues of the days and figuring out responsibilities on how to solve it. imagine their moral universe expanding and hearing the ideas echoing throughout that society and issues of war and peace and dangling decisions between north and south, the federal government and the state governments, the unfinished battle for civil rights and

opportunities, imagine the shift in the sense of what is possible the first time they see a video of senators look like they do, men and women blacks and whites, latinos asian-americans, those born in great wealth and also warned of incredibly modest means. -- also those born of incredibly modest means. it woman can listen in no michigan do it before she is told that she can't do, and chief feels that when she said that one of those desks, or when it comes to her turn to stand and speak. this is on behalf of something that she cares about, and cast a vote. -- casts a vote.

it has a sense of purpose. maybe it is just not for kids. what if we all carried ourselves in the way? what if our politics, our democracy, were as elevated and purposeful as she imagines it to be, right here? when we reflect on life and those of us who have served in congress over time, i think we have all had those same conversations. it is a more diverse and more accurate reflection of america that what it used to be, and that is a grand thing, a great achievement. but ted grieved the loss of come moderate and collegiality.

the face to face interactions. i think he regretted the arguments now made two cameras instead of colleagues. directed at a narrow base instead of the body politic as a whole. the outside's influence of money and special interest and how it all leads more americans to turn away in disgust and sibley -- and simply choose the right and not exercise the right to vote. this is not the time for me to suggest a slew of new ideas for reform. although i do have some. [laughter] maybe i will just mention one.

where -- what if we carried ourselves more like ted kennedy? what if we worked to follow his example a little bit harder? to his harshest critics, who saw him as nothing more than a partisan lightning rod that may sound foolish, but there are republicans here today for a reason. they know who ted kennedy was. it is not because they shared his ideology or his position, but because they knew that ted is somebody who has raised the partisan divide over and over again with genuine effort and affection and to narrow bipartisanship is so very where -- rare.

they knew him as somebody who kept his word. they knew him as somebody who was willing to take and endure the anger of his own supporters to get something done. they knew him as somebody who was not afraid. fear so permeates our politics instead of hope. people fight to get in the senate and then they are afraid. we fight to get these positions and then we don't want to do anything with them, and ted understood the point of running for office was to get something done. not the posture. not to sit there worrying about the next elections or the polls. to take risks. he understood that differences

of party or philosophy could not become barriers to cooperation or respect. he could howl on the senate floor like a force of nature. in frustration as he tried to figure out what chart to pull up next. [laughter] but in his personal dealings, he answered the call to keep the senate a place to restrain, if possible, the fury of democracy. i did not know ted as long as some of the speakers here today. but he was my friend. i/o him a lot. -- i owe him a lot. and as far as i could tell, it was never ideology that compelled him.

except, in so far as his ideology said, you should help people. you should have a life of purpose. you should be empathetic. be able to put yourself in somebody else's shoes and see through their eyes. his tireless nests and his restlessness -- tirelessness and his restlessness were rooted in his experiences. by 36, 2 of his brothers were stolen from him in the most tragic of public ways. by 41, he nearly lost a beloved child together. that made suffering something he knew. and it made him more alive to the suffering of others.

while his son was sleeping, ted would wander the halls of the hospital and meet other parents keeping vigil over their own children. they were parents terrified of what would happen when they could not afford the next treatment. parents working out what they could sell or borrow or mortgage just to make it a few more months. and then if they had to, bargain with god for the rest. there in the quiet night working people, of modest means and one of the most powerful men in the world, share the same intimate immediate sense of helplessness. he didn't see them as some abstraction, he knew them. he felt them.

their pain was his. as much as they might be separated by wealth and fame and those families would be at the heart of ted's passions. just like the young immigrant he would see himself in that child. they were his cause, the sick child who could not see a doctor, the young soldier sent to battle without all -- without armor, the end citizen who is told that she cannot marry who she loves. he attended as many military funerals in massachusetts as he could for those who fell in iraq and afghanistan. he called and wrote each one of the 177 families in this commonwealth who lost a loved one on 9/11. he took them sailing and played

with their children. not just in the days after but every year after. his life's work was not to champion those with wealth or power or connections, they already had enough representation, he wanted to give voice to the people who wrote and called him from every state desperate for someone who might listen and want to help. it is about what he could do for others. that is why he took his hearings to hospitals in a rural towns and inner cities and pushed people into -- people out of their comfort zones, because he himself would push himself out of his comfort zone. he tried to in still in his colleagues that same kind of empathy, even as they called him, as one did, wrong, at the top of his lungs.

even if they might disagree with them, 99% of the time. because who knew what might happen when that other 1% agreed? orrin hatch came to the senate because he promised to fight ted kennedy. what was a conservative mormon from the state of utah and the other was, well, ted kennedy. [laughter] once they got to know each other, they discovered certain things in common. it was about faith, a soft spot for health care, very fine singing voices. [laughter] in 1986, when republicans controlled the senate, orrin held the first discussion on the aids epidemic, even hugging and aids patient. it was a very important gesture at the time. the next year, ted took over the

committee, and continue what orrin started. when orrin's father passed away, ted was one of the first people to call. it was over dinner at ted's house one night, that they try to ensure the 10 million children who did not have access to health care get it. as that debate hit roadblocks in congress, as apparently debates in health care tend to do, ted would have his chief of staff serenade orrin to court his support. when hearings did not go ted's way, he might pop on his cigar to annoy orrin, who hated smoking. when things did not go orrin's way, he would call ted's's sister eunice. [laughter] they had created the health

insurance program, and ted passed, offering a tobacco tax and asking, are you for joe camel and the marlboro man for millions of children who lack adequate health care? that is the kind of friendship that is unique to the senate calling in mind to what john calhoun once said, i don't like can reclaim, he is a bad man, an imposter, a creator of wicked schemes, i would not speak to him, but by god, i love him. [laughter] so sure, orrin hatch once called ted one of the most major danger s to the country, but he also stood up and asked in ted's last months that we all pray for ted

kennedy permitted the point is that we can fight on almost anything, but we can come together on some things, and those some things can mean everything to a whole lot of people. it was common ground that led ted and orrin to a compromise to give millions of children health care. it was common ground that led ted and chuck grassley to cover kids with disabilities. it led ted and others to fight for others with mental illnesses. common ground. it is not rooted in abstractions or rigid ideologies but shared experiences. that led ted and john mccain to work on a bill of rights and create a smarter and more just system for immigrants. a common desire to fix what is broken. a willingness to compromise in

pursuit of a larger goal. a personal relationship that lets you fight like heck on one issue and shake hands on the next. not just cajoling or horse trading or serenading, but through ted's brand of friendship and humor and grace. what binds us together across our differences in religion or politics or economic theory, ted wrote in his memoirs, is all we share as human beings. the wonder that we experience when we look at the night sky. the gratitude that we know when we feel the heat of the sun. the sense of humor in the face of the unbearable and the persistence of suffering. one thing more it will help us

to reach across our differences, to offer a hand of healing. for all of the challenges of the changing world, for all of the imperfections of our democracy the capacity to reach across our differences is something that is entirely up to us. may we all in our lives set an example for the kids and enter these doors. hopefully they will exit with higher expectations for their country. may we all remember the times that this american family has challenged us to ask what we can do to dream and say why not, to seek a cause that endures, and to sail against the wind in its pursuit and to live our lives with a heightened sense of purpose. thank you, and may god bless

you, and may continue to bless this country that we love. thank you. [applause] announcer: one of the exhibits at the edward m kennedy center institute is a full replica of the senate chamber. senators stood over -- vice president biden stood over the senate chamber hearings. this is and is 35 minutes. [applause] vice president biden: wow.

[laughter] vice president biden: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will common open this meeting with a prayer. chaplain: let us pray, the eternal lord god who alone spreads out the heavens and rules the raging of the sea, you have been our help in ages past. you are our hope for years to come. lord, what an amazing day this has been. we thank you for the life and the legacy of a lion of the senate. edward m. kennedy.

lord, you selected him from his siblings to run a legislative marathon that would bring deliverance to captives and provide hope for the loss, the lonely, -- the lost, the lonely and the least. we thank you for this full-scale replica of a united states senate chamber that he loved so much. o god, maybe inspiration we receive -- may the inspiration that we receive from you inspire ourselves.

may senator kennedy's believe that to whom much is given, much is required, challenge us to feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty. to visit the sick. two clothes -- to cloth the n aked. to deliver to the incarcerated. to help the strangers. edward m. kennedy has left footprints in the sands of time to challenge us to dare to think more boldly, where storms will show your mastery, where we are losing sight of land, but we will sign -- we will find your stars.

push back the horizons of our hopes and lead us into a future fueled by faith focus, and fortitude. we pray in your sovereign name amen. vice president biden: please remain steady while we pledge allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. vice president biden: please be seated. vice president biden: thank you and welcome to this incredible

full-scale replica of the united states senate chamber. along with the rest of my colleagues here, it is good to be almost home. this replica looks like the actual senate chamber, and it feels like the real one, with reverend admiral black opening us and once again sitting in front of the senate pilot terry and -- senate parliamentarian whom i look up to for all of these years, is that the presiding officer of the senate pro tempore, the leading member, does not reside all the time, the party in charge of the senate, the majority party supplies folks on an hourly basis, so for you students to preside in the president's chair. as number 100 in seniority, i

remember how i would be absolutely totally lost if not for the fact that the gentleman to this right -- to my right new exec lee what to do when i presided, and even then, i got some of it wrong. but i would like to start with summit knowledge meds. in the spirit of our partisanship those republicans and democrats are sitting next to each other, on both sides of the aisle, is that of the traditional way where republicans are sitting to my left and democrats are sitting to my right. in fact, i would never think to see barbara mikulski sitting on the side of the chamber. [laughter] i would like to ask each senator to please stand and remain standing when i call their name. senator ed markey of massachusetts.

senator betty stepanov of michigan. senator jim sasser of tennessee. senator william cowan of massachusetts. senator barbara mikulski of maryland. senator angus king of maine. senator jean bailey hutchinson of texas. senator kay hagan of north carolina. senate majority leader tom daschle of south dakota. senator sheldon whitehouse of rhode island. senator carl levin of michigan. senator don riegel of michigan. senator gordon smith of oregon. mrs. irene inohe, wife of deceased senator of hawaii,

senator inohe. senator paul kirk of massachusetts. ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the senate. [applause] please be seated. i would like now to ask members of the house of representatives who are with us today thank you all for being here and please be seated. i would also like to knowledge the governors from the commonwealth and the city of washington to join us today attorney general laura healy state treasurer deb goldberg, and rosenberg, state speaker of the house robert delauro, and

mayor of boston, marty walsh. [applause] and next i am especially pleased to see so many future senators in our midst. there are 50 students here today, as their badges show from every state in the nation and thank you all for being here. [applause] and of course, our thanks to the kennedy family, who made all of this possible. would the kennedys all stand up, all 370 of you? [applause] [laughter] vice president biden: thank you so much. and thank you for this honor. we are in this replica of the united states senate chamber and we have watched three kennedys nobly serve it, and the kennedys are the only family to send three brothers, john, bobby, and teddy to the united

states senate. the kennedy family has a remarkable record of public service, and i would like to recognize all those in the family who have served ambassador jean kennedy smith can it -- connecticut senator ted kennedy, junior, robert and patrick kennedy, senator joe kennedy the second comment senator joe kennedy the third ambassador caroline kennedy, the tenant governor kathleen kennedy, and marilyn -- maryland house leader maria shriver. and i would also like to thank the key and all of the family members who are with us today, vicki, this was a wonderful wonderful occasion, thank you. [applause] you have done the nation a favor

with your tireless efforts to construct this incredible, incredible chamber, which brings me to some opening remarks i would like to make with your permission. like my former colleagues in this chamber, i can remember vividly vividly, 41 years ago when i first stood as speaker on the floor of the united states senate i was the least senior senator, not only that year, but they tell me the least senior senator in all of american history, to be elected to the united states senate. senate majority is based on the previous offices you had held and i had been a county officer and since we all got elected we were elected usually on the same day, and then it got down to the size of your stay, and i was from delaware and it went on that, so you could not get less senior than i was.

and i rose to speak, i was in the back row, second seat in, and as i rose to speak, a young man with a beard who was sitting i stood up, and as i did, the desks that i was flanked by, on the left and the right, and i found my hands there, and all of a sudden i said to the singlet senator from celtic coda, it struck me like a thunderbolt and i mean this sincerely, that the desk to my right was the desk of henry clay, and the desk to my left was the desk of daniel webster. and it struck me that i remember it was like yesterday. there was this sense of awesome responsibility i had felt, just standing there. i felt so unprepared, having

been a student in the senate, to have a vocation of my like some of my colleagues, i just could not believe i was standing literally in the footsteps and location of some of the greatest senators that had ever served. only a few seats down on the next row over here was the lion of the senate, senator edward m. kennedy. i remember, i really do remember it like it was yesterday, having studied a career of senators who had gone before me, i tried to keep that sense of awe and respect that i felt that day in my mind throughout my career, and to be honest with you the senators who served with me say it is not that hard. so every time you walk with me in this chamber, i always say to

the senator from tennessee, how intimate it felt. i expected something different when i walked through those doors. i walked through six days after everyone else had been sworn in because i had been sworn in late for other reasons and remember being ushered in through that door by the sergeant at arms and thinking to myself, this is so personal it seems so, i don't of how to say it, it seemed to be so intimate. 36 years later, as i stood to make my fellow world address -- my farewell address to the united states senate, the senator from michigan, mr. 11, nash -- mr. levnin, said it had

been a pleasure to serve me in the chamber. but teddy said it best, saying that need in the chamber changes a person, something fundamentally profound happens to you when you arrive there and it stays with you all the time you have the privilege to serve there. it does change you. i suspect those of you students who are here as senators today ask any of the senators who presently serve or have served before, and they can give you a credible of watching people change. i ran for the united states senate because i stood against every thing that senator strom thurmond and others stood for. yet, on the 100th birthday

actually four days after the 100th birthday of senator strom thurmond he was in the hospital dying, and i got a phone call from his wife. she was saying i had just left the senator, and he has a favor i have to ask if you, mr. chairman, and i said, anything at all, and he said, he wants you to do his eulogy. the idea that 33 years later, i would be asked to do the eulogy of a man whom i had such profound is agreement -- profound disagreement, and i had watched even him change. why the time he had left the senate, he had an even larger black staff than any other member of the senate, he voted for the voting rights act, and he changed in many ways. it is an enormous, yet so intimate place.

people do change. i learned that women and men arrive in this chamber not only from different parts of the country, but with their -- very different perspectives. and they all come no matter what their ideology, because they think that they can make things better. if you get to know them, you begin to understand that may be your way is not the only way. it does not feel the weight of the felt the promise of a nation. and the interesting thing is for those you -- for those of you students who are here, to understand that this is designed as he unique body for part of the congress, and he was designed to be a different place, with a different function , different obligations, then

any other branch of the government. this body was intended to be a place that could withstand the popular storms, and passions of the moment. six-year terms, not two, or four. senate rules and procedures, in 1789, that demanded civil discourse, centered on civil behavior, and sanctions. jefferson's manual on the fundamental procedure in 1801 says rule 19, in the united states senate, forbidding senators to ever refer offensively to another person's state or to personally impugn the integrity of another senator. not the stuff of ordinary

parliamentary bodies. but all of this was intuitive to senator kennedy, which is why as passionate as he was, and for the causes that he was committed to, he never acted in a small way. senator kirk can tell you, as his chief of staff for so many years, he was magnanimous. as a consequence of his mega amenity -- of his magnaniminity, he made the united states senate a better place. he held this institution and made its responsibilities, even in moments of great national turmoil. and they were were -- they were

great days of national turmoil when this senator arrived in 1953 -- 1963. the nation, we are told, that the that is factually not true. it was so much more divided in the days when the line in the senate on this floor. the civil rights movement had not been completed. shortly after, the march on selma, shortly after a vicious fight to maintain the voting rights act. in nation was still divided. women's rights were just being articulated and debated. the equal rights amendment which drew vicious and divisive

separations within this body. the environmental movement challenged by business and enterprise contrary to our economic system, stifling growth. the -- vietnam was not only ripping the senate apart but families and nations. my whole generation. contentious judicial nominations , the outcome of which would more likely dictate the fate of america long after the senators who voted on those nominations no longer served. because of leaders like ted kennedy, because of every great senator out of the 315 with whom i served comedy, consensus was

reached. great senators like mike mansfield of montana, howard baker of tennessee mark hatfield republican from oregon. george mitchell, a democrat from maine. bob dole, republican from kansas , nancy kassebaum, republican from kansas. barbara mikulski, democrat from maryland. this is a place where friendships were made. i will never forget, hubert humphrey was on his last leg dying of cancer, going through intense chemotherapy.

he died shortly thereafter. very goldwater walk up to him and them embracing. both crying. the entire united states senate rising to its feet for sustained , emotional applause. barry goldwater and hubert humphrey. as a consequence the senate functioned as it was designed. the nation in the midst of the turmoil in those early years that i served arrived at consensus. all of america was better for it. all those i mentioned, including former and current senators are with us today. they understood and understand

no one has a corner on the truth. no one's perspective is the only perspective. each of them understood as teddy that our actions in this chamber must ultimately reflect the decent saying, the honor, and the capacity of the american people. that we are privileged to serve. i know it is the keys hope that thousands of young people and generations will step into this chamber, and in succeeding debates, stand at those desks and understand the basic truths about what makes this institution the colossus of the constitution, as john adams said. our hope is that each of you leave, understanding one

guarantee of our future aspirations as a country is your active protection nation -- participation in the greatest democracy in the history of the world, and understand the role the most deliver to body ever conceived by man is the institution in which you are sitting right now. my guess is every former senator will tell you what i will tell you. the greatest honor of my life, including being vice president was to serve in this chamber. i was there at the behest of the people of my state, who trusted me, in consecutive and sections -- in seven consecutive

elections to represent them. i can think of no greater honor. if they have time, take an opportunity to engage the senators who are here now currently serving and have served. my guess is what they will tell you is not fundamentally different than what i have said to you. this is the colossus of the constitution. i hope you got the same feeling that i got when you walked in here. it's intimacy, it is real. it only functions and functions best when you understand every major issue i've ever watched resolved ultimately got resolved because of personal trust personal confidence, and the

senators on the other side of the aisle with whom you were dealing. that is the stuff which makes this bodywork. when the senate works, the country works. ladies and gentlemen, in keeping with the tradition of the united states senate, i ask you to do almost what we did, every new senator has an opportunity to lift the desks, open the desk, and carve their name if they so desire in the base of the desk. i had the great honor of having president john f. kennedy's desk. and the desk that had the longest consecutive serving family members of the senate, the baird family from the state

of delaware. it matters. the closest thing we can do -- it matters because it will would be recorded -- i ask you now to take some pride. as senator daschle pointed out there are only 1960 -- 100 963 senators who have done and signed their names and the desk. each of you have before you an ability to sign. if you would take at your tablets, and please sign your name on the tablet, do they all have them? you do.

all the actual senators, let's resubmit what we have all done before. sign your tablet. and then submit. thank you all very much. now, the senate has been a place of dialogue, debate, and decision. surrounding the most pressing issues facing the nation. statement will be able to serve their citizens about the best path forward. i am pleased to recognize our future leaders who will be reciting how lewd words of

senators throughout history to remind us of our noble purpose. we will start with the first president of the united states senate, john adams. i recognize john adams. >> no caps on no permanent and this will be necessary to defend the right, liberty and property of the people. and to protect the constitution of the united states of america. vice president john adams, massachusetts, 1797. >> it is true surrogate members of the house of representatives are elected for two years. the president for four years. the members of the senate for six years. during their temporary official term, these officers constitute the government. back of them always is the controlling sovereign power of the people. when the people can make there

will known, the officers will obey that will. >> let me say mr. president when the women of the country, and and sit with you, though there may be but very few in the next few years, i pledge you you will get ability, you will get integrity of purpose, you will get exhaustive -- ♪ patriotism, senator vladimir, jordan. >> we took out our oath of office. we took on these very grave responsibilities, painful though they may be at times.

we have to undertake them with all the courage and conviction within us. senator edward brooks, massachusetts, 1970. >> it is the senators and individuals who are of fundamental importance. it is the institution of the senate, the senate itself as one of the foundations of the constitution, it is the senate as one of the rocks of the republic. senator mike mansfield, 1963. >> the senate is the anchor of our public. a morning and evening star in the american constitutional constellation. the united states senate has served our country so well because great and courageous senators have always been willing to stay the course

through thick and thin, and to keep the faith. >> i got into politics fighting a highway. in other countries they take dissidents and take them to jail. in the united states they put you in the united states senate. god bless america. barbara mikulski, maryland, 2013. [applause] >> i still believe that politics is a noble profession. i am enormously mindful every day of my life at the greatest public honor of one's life is service in the senate. it is for me.

i always think the greatest contribution i will have made will have been my children. the greatest public honor will be service in the senate representing massachusetts, the state i love, which is playing an extraordinary role in this nation. from the revolution of this country, to its members being involved in the constitutional convention, to the strong support by the abolitionists and lending slavery. the support for the suffragettes. by late leadership. by republicans and democrats. the people of massachusetts have a high standard for progress to be made by the representatives. it is one that challenges all of us each day. senator edward m kennedy. [applause]

vice president biden: now that we have heard from our past let's make a pledge for our future. i invite everyone on the floor and in the gallery to please stand and join me in making a commitment to the leadership and service this institution represents. please respond by saying i do. we, the people of this hallowed chamber, to strengthen the american system of self-government make the following pledge. the you solemnly swear that you will be an active and engaged citizen of the united states? do you pledge to show courage and compassion in your service to others? do you pledge to use your heart

soul, intelligence, and imagination to make america better? do you pledge to work together with anyone regardless of differences and background or believe to solve problems and make this a more perfect union? do you pledge to always strive to uphold the values of justice equality, and opportunity? do you affirm that you will fill your duties as a citizen and proud american? the senate stands adjourned. [applause]

quacks on the next washington journal, eric trager talks about the arab league's call for the creation of a joint military force to counter extremism and political instability in the middle east. and a look at a white house proposal to fund transportation programs at 480 $7 billion over the next six years. darrell campbell with the -- darrell campbell. we will have your comments on facebook and twitter on c-span. >> the most memorable moment was hearing senator cory gardner say

you need to be firm in your principles but flexible in the details. it reflects the solutions like the harsh polarization we are saying across our country, and of all the senators, all the congressmen and women, and the state legislators can adopt we can come together as a country and solve pertinent issues. >> my favorite quote, she said member to be humble and have a strong work ethic. because the people you meet on the way up, you'll meeting again on the way down. >> often times we have a lack of tree true statesman. senator mccain committed to the veterans affairs reform bill. maintaining how staying away from torture is essential to the character of our democracy. the point where we have people

who are willing to cross the aisle, to make these decisions with people who they may not often agree with. that is essentially what we need to maintain the security, the integrity of our nation as we go along. >> high school students in the top 1% of their states were in washington dc as part of the united states senate youth program. >> president obama talks about the recently announced agreement on iran's nuclear program. the responses by senator richard of north carolina. he talks about the growing threats to cyber security. president obama: this week together with our allies and partners, we reached an historic understanding with iran, which if fully implemented, will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and make our country, our allies, and our world safer.

this framework is the result of tough, principled diplomacy. it's a good deal -- a deal that meets our core objectives, including strict limitations on iran's program and cutting off every pathway that iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon. this deal denies iran the plutonium necessary to build a bomb. it shuts down iran's path to a bomb using enriched uranium. iran has agreed that it will not stockpile the materials needed to build a weapon. moreover, international inspectors will have unprecedented access to iran's nuclear program because iran will face more inspections than any other country in the world. if iran cheats, the world will know it. if we see something suspicious we will inspect it. so this deal is not based on trust, it's based on unprecedented verification. and this is a long-term deal with strict limits on iran's program for more than a decade and unprecedented tr